The buzz on energy drinks
Cady Carlson
October 11, 2009
Filed under In-Depth
Thirty-one percent of Bishop Kelley students said they drink one to two energy beverages a week with the majority prefering Red Bull. However, few students may know about the recent studies coming to light regarding just how unhealthy energy drinks are.
A press release by the American Heart Association said that blood pressure and heart rate levels increase in healthy adults who drink two cans a day of any popular energy drink. Even though these increases did not endanger healthy adults, the study determined energy drinks are unhealthy for people who consume them very often and for adults with heart disease.
In addition, a new popular trend among young adults is mixing energy drinks with alcohol in assumption that the two effects will cancel eachother out.
“Instead, the heart and the brain keep getting intermittent messages and thus the heart rate and ability of the brain to process information becomes very erratic,” Coordinator of Substance Abuse Programs Ms. Mary Brennan said.
Research discovered that the heart beat’s rhythm was thrown off when people drank energy drinks.
“The increases in heart rate and blood pressure weren’t enough for something to happen acutely, but a person on hypertension medication [for high blood pressure] or who has cardiovascular disease may not respond as well,” Dr. James Kalus, former Wayne State researcher who led the study, said in a press release from AHA.
Kalus believes the increases may be due to the caffeine. Until more research is done, he suggests people with high blood pressure or heart disease should avoid these drinks due to the possible negative effects.
In response to the American Heart Association’s press release, a lobbying group, the American Beverage Association stated that many other foods, soft drinks and other sugary items contain calories, but “in and of themselves, they are not a unique risk factor for obesity or other negative health outcomes – including heart disease.”
In fact, Nutrition Research Reviews concluded that there is little evidence from studies that sugar-sweetened drinks are more likely than any other source of energy to lead to obesity, since major risk factors act largely upon genetics.
According to the American Beverage Association, as long as the people who drink sugary beverages do so in moderation and balance it with a physical lifestyle, they can remain healthy.
Energy drinks should not be confused with sports drinks like Gatorade because the caffeine in energy drinks acts as a diuretic and increases dehydration, according to altmedicine.about.com.
Functional Beverages Incorporated recently launched the opposite of an energy drink on July 11, 2008, called “Purple Stuff,” a supposed relaxing drink. However, energy drinks still tend to be used more often.
While society may need more rest in order to retain more energy, many people’s intrigue has piqued in regards to consuming energy drinks.
As a safe alternative to energy drinks, Pacific Shore Holdings has come out with a new lip balm called Energy-X, “a zero calorie, no sugar alternative to boost energy.”
“We developed a lip balm for consumers looking for that energy boost to increase their performance whether on the pro circuit, in the gym, or in the work place,” Joey Valvo, VP of the company said in a press release. “At $6.99, Energy-X is cost-effective, lasting three to four weeks versus an energy drink which lasts half a day.”
However, its patent is pending, which means that it is not supported by the Food and Drug Administration, thus the company is not required to publish all of the ingredients. In fact, they can completely mislabel the actual package without committing a crime.